Editorial

A
journal with the mission of reporting on the most important themes and topics
of the healthcare system and its managing structures must also focus on both
patient and staff safety. We must not forget to discuss and reflect upon these
topics, especially in times of economic crisis and financial insecurity.
Therefore we would like to introduce our readers to new innovative measurements
and methods...

News

Hospital management in times of crisis: constrains, challenges and opportunities
EAHM is proud to announce that its 24th congress will take place
on 28- 30 November 2013 in Luxembourg.
Once again more than 600 hospital managers will gather from across
Europe to share their experiences and best practices. This year the congress will
focus on how to deal with economic constraints

HMI hosts second national Conference in Dublin
To an
audience of almost 300 delegates, conference speakers addressed issues of
policy, assessed the experience of health service managers and challenged long
held beliefs and mindsets about how health services in Ireland are delivered.
HMI
President, Mr. Richard Dooley opened the event urging that health managers must
“move

Commissioner Dalli resigns
On 16
October 2012, Commissioner John Dalli announced his resignation as a member of
the Commission with immediate effect.
Mr.
Dalli informed the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso of
his decision following an investigation by OLAF, the EU's antifraud office,
into a complaint made in May 2012 by the tobacco producer, Swedish Match.

Safety

As
Europe sees its countries struggling to keep their commitments towards greater (cost)
efficiency and general improvement of living and working conditions in all
areas, it is with even more concern that we see some deadlines coming closer
and closer. European,
national, as well as regional plans and campaigns put in place before the
economic crisis are, nevertheless, maintained. We
can consider...

Interview:
Johnny Lundgren, regional vice-president northwest and southern
Europe, BD
Firstly, tell us a bit about BD. What does the company do? What
are its objectives?
BD is a leading global medical technology company that develops,
manufactures and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents. The
company is dedicated to improving people's health throughout the world. BD i

Authors:Dr. Salvatore Paolo Cantaro General DirectorAzienda Sanitaria Provinciale di CaltanissettaDr. Salvatore ScarlataGeneral Direction staffAzienda Sanitaria Provinciale di Caltanissetta
Policies for the
management and control of risks associated with healthcare constitute one of
the priorities of the modern health systems. Like most European countries, the
Ministry of Health in Italy has recognised...

Management

Quality
Healthcare Provision in Economic Uncertainty
Following
on from last issue’s interviews with representatives from Greece and Portugal,
(E) Hospital spoke to Mr. Josep M. Piqué, CEO of Hospital Clínic at the
University of Barcelona; and to Mr. Richard Dooley, President of the Health
Management Institute of Ireland; to find out how Spanish and Irish hospitals
are coping with the effe

Dr
Gerald Rockenschaub, Programme Manager for Country Emergency Preparedness with
the WHO took some time out of his busy schedule to talk to (E)Hospital about
the importance of disaster preparedness and emergency response and the key role
of the hospital manager.
What is the role of WHO Europe and what part do you play in it?
The WHO Europe is one of the six regional offices within t

Technical standards,innovations,horizon scanning and benchmarking
“Outsourcing
Services in Healthcare: Technical Standard, Innovation, Horizon Scanning and
Benchmarking” is an
on-going project, first started in 2011 by ANMDO (Italian National Association
of Hospital Medical Directors). The main objectives of the project, focused on
management issues in the outsourcing of non-core...

Oncology special

The
link between a higher survival rate after a diagnosis of breast cancer for high
volume hospitals compared to low volume hospitals has been consistently
demonstrated over the last ten years. Less frequent are studies on the
differences in processes of care between high and low volume providers. In
Belgium, a set of 11 process indicators to assess the quality of the treatment
of breast cancer has...

Interventional
radiology (IR) is already well established within the field of oncology and the
contribution it makes to cancer care continues to grow. Minimally invasive
image-guided interventions started out having an ancillary role in oncology;
treating the complications of cancer (e.g. clearing occluded ducts and vessels)
or managing the side-effects of disease and of treatment (e.g. haemorrh...

HOT TOPICS FROM ESMO 2012
They key
message from this year’s European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) was that
equal access to cancer care is a medical and ethical imperative, including
early diagnosis, treatment and supportive care.
Personalised
medicine
President
of the society, Prof Martine Piccart addressed the conference on the final day,
“The goal we are worki

Its
reliance on biomarker evaluation for diagnosis and treatment decisions makes
breast cancer care a good example of personalised medicine. In addition to
breast cancer biomarkers such as the oestrogen/progesterone receptor and the
Ki- 67 proliferation marker, HER2 (Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2)
has received particular attention in the recent years. 20 - 30 % of women with
breast...

Country Focus: Slovakia

Until
1990, the Slovak healthcare worked as a centralised public system, organised as
the National Healthcare System independent from the Czech Healthcare system in
federal Czechoslovakia. It was financed from central resources (federal state
budget), distributed in the three regions of Slovakia (western, central and eastern).
After
1990, the process of decentralisation, de-etatisation, p

Author:
Miroslav
Valaštík
Director
ANS
History
In March 1991 the directors of several Slovak hospitals initiated
a meeting aimed at establishing a voluntary association of hospitals which would
serve to defend common interests, provide mutual support, exchange information
and collaborate with similar organisations abroad. Upon this initiative the
Slovak Hospital (ANS) was established in...